The invention relates generally to ovens for preparing food products, and more particularly to an oven or smoker.
Food products, for example meats such as beef, pork, and poultry, as well as fish and the like, traditionally are prepared for consumption by subjecting the raw product to sufficient heat so as to cook the product to an appropriate level of doneness. Various ovens or cookers are used for roasting, broiling, smoking or barbequing meat. In many instances, the cookers or ovens used to prepare the product have a cooking chamber and a source of convection heat, for example, electric heating elements, gas jets, wood or charcoal burners. In commercial food preparation, for example in restaurants, large ovens are employed to cook or prepare large quantities of product at one time. For example, large convection ovens or barbeque ovens or smokers are used to prepare batches of food products, such as roasts, ribs, chickens, fish and sometimes potatoes and other vegetables. These products generally are placed on racks inside the cooking chamber and subjected to heat and/or smoke. These commercial ovens, particularly barbeque ovens or smokers, usually impart a unique and desired flavor and quality to the prepared foods.
Most commercial ovens or smokers function well for their intended purposes. However, the commercial ovens or smokers generally are fixtures in a restaurant or other food preparation facility. They are large, heavy and often connected to a source of fuel, such as natural gas and electricity. Also, to be used in a commercial setting, the oven must be installed under a Type 1 commercial ventilation system.
It would be advantageous, therefore, to provide a compact oven or smoker for preparation of food products that provides many of the same cooking features as a larger commercial oven or smoker.
It would be advantageous to provide such a compact smoker oven with a heat and smoke source separate from the cooking chamber.
It also would be advantageous to provide a compact smoker oven with an air flow system for pulling heated air and smoke through the cooking chamber.